Current Trends in Quarrying

Haulage is a major variable cost in producing limestone products. The most widely used vehicle for hauling rock from the quarry face to the primary crusher is the rigid-bodied dump truck, which is available in sizes ranging from 15 to over 150 tonnes capacity. Articulated dump trucks are more manoeuvrable and are often favoured in smaller quarries. 

A relatively recent trend is to install in-pit crushers (Fig. 4.7). These may be fed directly from the quarry face by rubber-tyred shovels in a load-and-carry operation. The crushed rock is transported to the processing plant by conveyers, which generally have lower capital and operating costs than dump trucks. 

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